The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), on Wednesday signed an agreement with CZ Consulting, a security firm, to enforce safety compliance of armoured vehicles being imported to the country.

At the signing of the agreement in Abuja, the Director- General of SON, Dr John Akanya, said the agreement was necessary to ensure the safety of lives.

He said most of the armoured vehicles, including bullion vans, conveyed currencies and human beings, “so they are very important to the security of the nation.

“We have consulted widely with security authorities in the country and we found out that the civil armoured vehicles also need to comply with standards,” he said. Akanya said that the company would advise on how to ensure and monitor compliance of the imported vehicles for safety. Chief Charles Chukwuemeka, the Managing Director of the company, said the armoured vehicle project was introduced by the Police, which insisted that all banks and security outfits should buy standard armoured vehicles.
“This project is borne out of the need to devise loss prevention as a way of safeguarding lives of people. So, the government decided to use SON to ensure that standard armoured vehicles are of standard and that is where we come in. Our role is technical cooperation and advising in the performance of these vehicles,” he said.